You can’t really discuss zelij without thinking about it’s symmetry, and the TED.com talk below is an excellent primer on the subject. Marcus du Sautoy is the new science ambassador for Oxford University, and his talk below includes some discussion of the Al Hambra, whose patterns – of course – are intimately related to those of Morroco.

But it isn’t. It is in fact a mathematical investigation into tiling the plane with tiles of fivefold symmetry. See the full article by Craig Kaplan at Plus Magazine for a nice in depth discussion of the problem.

Despite being one of the most aesthetically pleasing methods of covering a surface, zelij seems hardly to have moved out of it’s main sites of origin of Morocco and southern Spain.

Certainly I never see anything in London that resembles it in public spaces – we get stuck with very ordinary tiling patterns on the whole – but this morning I spotted an interesting manhole cover, with a pattern not unlike the central stars of many a zelij pattern:

Borough High St, London, SE1

I don’t think the Moroccans would stick a rather awkward square in the middle though…

I have to say, despite the knowledgeable sounding intro, the patterns generated are not very authentic (at least I couldn’t get anything to look very authentic)

The failing seems to be in the construction of the patterns – I have a book which describes a much better system which if implemented would generate much better patterns (but would this be a bit of a soulless process? Part of the attraction is the effort required and the artistry of the original craftsmen)

A fine new3 part documentary has just begun on BBC4 about the history of science in Islamic countries between the 8th & 14th centuries.

It’s not exactly Zelij related, but without a good understanding of mathematics and geometry, the art of Zelij would be well nigh impossible, and these documentaries explore how such knowledge was acquired and discovered at this early period.

It can be watched online at this url, at least for the next month or so, but probably only if you are based in the UK:

Column with repeating 8-point starAm especially impressed with the way the column face is exactly the right width for the design.

Three interwoven 8-point stars in the ‘wicker-work’ style

16 point starSlightly more elaborate…

64-point star ceilingNormally the centre star in designs have 8 points; 16 if the designer was in an extravagant mood (see above). However one particular palace had many 32 and 64 point stars. Complexity nearly to the point of absurdity, and actually not as aesthetically pleasing as the simpler designs, in my humble opinion.

Everything Zelij

On a trip to Morocco recently I fell in love with the ubiquitous style of tiling known as Zelij (or Zillij, zilige, zillige...).

It is an intricate and detailed method of covering surfaces that at first glance looks straightforward, but on closer study is highly complex.

The word 'Zelij' doesn't describe just one pattern, but refers to the art of covering a surface with a limited set of geometrically organised tiles.

It is found everywhere in Morocco, from mediaeval religious colleges to modern public spaces.

I find it beguilling, inspiring and endlessly fascinating. This blog is a loose collection of interesting or useful Zelij related material I have found on the internet, as well as some photographs and drawings I made whilst in Morocco